Ron’s Review – A bumbling situation veers into a Tarantino epic | stage

WWatching a comedian collapse on stage is hellish. In Ted Walker’s new play, the performer’s collapse is deliberate, but the show’s broader ambitions miss their mark. Presented as a standup group that spirals into absurd pseudo-confessionalism, this first foray into Riverside Studios co-production is One Man’s Shadow.

The problem starts with how quickly the framing device gets pushed aside. When bumbling comedian Tony (Walker) fails to get the laugh he wants, he tries on a tougher persona and embarks on a violent tale of misadventure with Mike, his best friend, a longtime crush and an all-round scoundrel. Delirious enthusiasm enters Tony’s step as he paints a gratuitously horrific night of torn faces and chewed bones. Kicking off a mistake at a McDonald’s where we meet the titular character, we’re thrust into a completely different play, with only the occasional “you people” addressing us to remind us that this is an ensemble comedy meant to be.

We jump into this second offering: a fast-paced, Tarantino-esque epic told with no sequences and a complete lack of consequences. The thinly told tale arbitrarily highlights kidnappings, gangsters and cannibalism, with some thinly written nods to unrequited love while Tony avoids telling us what’s really wrong. We’re supposed to know he’s floundering, as Walker’s outfit changes are designed to make us feel a little crazy. But there’s no incentive to get to the root of our narrator’s confusion. We hardly know the man.

There are big, bold expressions of creativity here. The most surprising comes with the extravagant reveal of the group, suggesting that the story is coming alive around Tony, or that he’s fallen away into his own narrative. Walker gave himself the huge task of writing, performing, and co-directing the show (with Lev Govorovsky, with whom he also designed the set and costumes), as well as the lighting and sound. He is a confident performer, precisely picking up the stand-up rhythm and plotting the story on his own. But the show would benefit from making us feel what Tony is running from, rather than just watching him run.